Monthly Archives: April 2013

Post navigation

My pre-race ritual is pretty simple: I wake up. I shower. I make sure that my running clothes match, and I curse at my racing bib (seriously, I hate racing bibs – they crinkle and rub and catch on everything and if the timing chip is on the bib, just yuck.) I grab my water and my Honey Stinger chews and an Uncrustable and I am out. Yes, an Uncrustable. You know, one of those little pre-made, processed sandwiches that you […]

This whole recipe started with a ploy to get out of eating peanut butter. Foodwise, peanut butter has always been sort of a booty-call food to me. In the world of Ali, a booty-call food is one that I eat for a purpose other than taste. Booty-call foods serve a simple purpose and unless I am seeking that purpose, I have no use for them. Peanut butter, I have found, is one of my best early-morning pre-run fuel foods… but, unless […]

Confession: I’m afraid to fly. My fear of flying began in my adulthood on a flight from Las Vegas to DFW where we banked hard upon taking off. I spent the rest of the flight bargaining with God and wishing I had partied harder in Vegas because I swore I would never fly again…which was an impossibility given that my job at the time required constant air travel. It was less than a week before I was back on a plane. To […]

Every family has a share of hilarious-to-us-but-you-just-had-to-be-there stories. You know the kind. These are the stories that families tell over and over and over again, laughing more hysterically with each retelling only to receive blank stares and subsequent polite half-smiles from anyone who didn’t participate in the original story. In my family, one such story is The Pole Bean Story. Cast of Characters: Dad – Ph.D – Knows his way around academic literature, but not around the produce section of […]

You know what’s great about stuffed mushrooms? The possibilities are endless. Really. You can stuff a mushroom with just about anything. You can prepare stuffed mushrooms as an easy appetizer (stuff early, bake, and voila – gourmet!) or as a meal. This recipe produces a very hearty mushroom, so it’s more to a meal than an appetizer. The Ingredients: Portobello Mushrooms – As many as you like. The ingredients for this recipe will stuff 6 medium or 4 large mushrooms. […]

How fun is this? I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award! Let me tell you, I do love an award. I still have my first place medal from the 1988 Regional Science Olympiad (That’s right kids! I will tear you apart when it comes to making an egg catcher or predicting precipitation levels in high stakes situations) and I have been known to wear it every so often. Dorky? Probably. I mostly do it to annoy my kids. I […]

This is my first pair of running shoes. That is not to say that this is the first pair of shoes in which I have ever run. When I started running, I took to the streets in an older pair of cross-trainers that I purchased more for the hot pink and grey color combination than for anything else. I reasoned that I would not spend money on running shoes until I could commit to running on a regular basis. Then, […]

Today is a very special day here at Kitchenpants! Today is the day that food bloggers everywhere unite for Food Bloggers Against Hunger! On this day, we are here to raise awareness of hunger in the United States and call out to you, our readers, to help us take action. 1 out of every 4 children in the United States doesn’t know where his or her next meal will come from. And before you go thinking that this is about […]

Lizzie and I used to say that the only way we would run was if someone was chasing us…and if he was cute, then we might just walk really fast. We were – I’m sorry to say – the girls who drove by someone running on the street, slowed down, and screamed, “Hey! Are you in a hurry? We can give you a ride!” I can still hear Lizzie’s voice in my head as she put her foot on the […]

Say what you will about the Jersey Shore, I love it there. I’ve been spending parts of the summer at the shore since I was fresh out of Kindergarten. As a kid, my Jersey Shore days were simple: beach, boardwalk, and late night family time with aunts, uncles, and cousins (It probably wasn’t that late, but anything past dark for a kid who had to go to bed when the sun was still out at home is magic). For me, the […]